Apparatus for making emulsions



G. MITCHELL.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING EMULSIONS.

APPLICATION FILED II0v.I,192o,

G. MITCHELL,

APPARATUS FOR MAKING EMuLsloNs.

APPLICATON FILED NOV.1,1920.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

mi Us KZ WW" 1W 11111111121 j G. MITCHELL.

APPARATUS,` FOR MAKING EMULsloNs.

APPLICATION HLED NOV` l, 1920.

1,393,632. Patented oet. 11, 1921.

3 SHEETSf-SHEET 3,

UNITED; STATES GEORGE MITCHELL, OF LONDON, ENG-LAND.V

APPARATUS FOR MAKING EMULSIONS.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE MITCHELL, a subject of the King of England, residing in London, En land, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Apparatus for Making Emulsions,. of which the following y is a speciiication.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to apparatus for makinaI emulsions and has forits object to provide an improved construction of apparatus in which solid or semi-solid materials, which contain oil and are difficult to break up and .emulsify in water or other liquid, can be thoroughly and successfully emulsiiied. As an example of such materials may be mentioned the kernels of castor seed which contain approximately of oil and have hitherto been found diiiicult to break up and emulsify. The apparatus is also suitable for treatment of other materials which are more readily emulsiiied.

An apparatus according to the present invention comprises the combination with a chamber having at the bottom thereof a narrow outlet in the form of a slit of a width approximately equal to, say, the thickness of a paper sheet, and means formasticating in liquid in the chamber emulsiiecl and for forcing the liquid containing the masticated material through said outlet.

ln a preferred form the apparatus come I prises two members spaced apart 'face-to- 35 face, means to effect relative movement between them, and means for introducing the material between them and for discharging it at their margins, characterized by corrugations on the inner face of one member (or on the inner faces of both members) which corrugations are disposed obliquely to the direction of relative movement between the members and constitute pockets diminishing in depth toward the discharge edge aforesaid at which edge a lnarrow (preferably adjustable) gap is afforded between the members equal to, say, the thickness of a paper sheet.

Conveniently the two members are both circular in plan, one of them being` stationary and the other movable, and the corrugations are formed between volute ribs upstanding on the movable member and of sucha depth that each approximately fills the space between the two members, the leading face of each rib being curved fromthe Specification of Letters Patent.

the material to be Patented oct. 11, 1921.

Application led November 1, 1920. Serial No. 420,956.

top of the rib by an easy curve uniting the tolp of the rib and the root of an adjacent r1 Preferably the curve uniting the top of a rib with the root of an adjacent rib' is gradually flatter as it vapproaches the outer extremity of a corrugatiom A feature of the invention comprises a construction in which each of the two members is of conical form and the fixed member is in the form of a hood for the movable member, the degree of conicity of the floor of the movable member formed being less than'that of the fixed member.

According to another feature of the invention there are corrugations on the fixed member disposed around the marginal discharge edge portion thereof, each corrugation extending in an oblique direction in relation to a radius of the member and the trough of each corrugation being preferably dished both in the direction of its length and also in a transverse direction.

Other features of the invention comprise an annular collecting trough and a cover for the casing to be more fully described hereinafter.

One preferred form of apparatus will now be described, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in

l which- Figure l is a central sectional elevation through the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a central sectional elevation at ri ht-angles to Fig. l;

ig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1 with the cover plate removed; Fig. 4 is a view of cover plate;

F'g. 5 is a section through one of the corrugations of the cover-plate on the-line 5-5 of Fig. 4 drawn to a larger scale;

Fig. 6 is a series of transverse sections on the lines w-a to g-g of Fig. 5;

Figs. 7-9 are fragmentary sectional views on the lines 7--7 to 9-9 respectively of Fig. 3, to a larger scale.

Like reference letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The apparatus is inclosed in a cylindrical casing A of cast-iron or other desired material closed at the bottom and open at the top. A cover B for the topv of the casing is formed of material cfa similar nature to that of the casing-'and this cover forms one of the two on which the ribs are cooperating crushing members to be more particularly described hereinafter. lt is conveniently secured to the casing by bolts pivotally mounted in a flange around the upper edge of the casing and arranged to swing` into slots formed in the peripheral portion o f the cover, in which position they are secured by means of nuts.

On the inner periphery of the casing is formed, by casting or otherwise, an annular channel A1 which is shallower at one side of the casing than at the other and its bottom slopes gradually downward from one end of a diameter of the casing to the other end thereof. At its lowest point the channel discharges through an outlet A2 opening through the side of the casing.

The cover B, which constitutes the fixed member of the pair of crushing members, is conical in form and has, at its central part, a flanged tubular inlet Bl. The inner face of the cover is formed near its margin, and over the mouth of the annular channel A2, with a sharply defined edge B2 and the extreme outer margin. beyond this edge is inclined upwardly toward the flange by which it is secured to the casing. This sharply-defined edge is at a position at which the emulsied material will be discharged.

IDirected inwardly from this edge and completel around the surface of the inner face of t e cover, is a plurality of corrugations B3 evenly spaced and inclined more or less tangentially, as clearly indicated in Figft. That is to say theyJare each arranged obliquely to a radius of the cover. The separating ribs B4 of the corrugations have their edges formed on the general line of' the cone onwhich the inner surface of.

the cover is shaped. The troughs of the corrugations extendinwardly from the discharge edge for a smalll distance only, say for about one-fifth of the length of the working surface of the cover measured from the discharge edge toward the center. The troughs are arc-shaped in section'in both the transverse direction are substantially vflattened at both extremities but have a considerably greater curvature at a central section intermediate the two extremities, as will be clearly seen from. an examination of Figs. 5 and 6.

Thus, the corrugations'B8 constitutea plurality of separated pockets around the periphery of the inner face of the cover.

The movable member C is in the form of a disk having a conical degree of conicity is less than that of the inner face of the cover. tion the disk tapers in a smooth curve upwardly toward a point C1 in the central axis fof the cone and this pointed portion extends centralllwithin the tubular inlet B in the Cover' Acurve toward the root of t surface whereof the v At its central pory Thus, between the cover B and neeaesa -will be hereinafter referred to as the masticatin chamber.

On t e upper face vof the movable member C there are formed a number of volute ribs C3 the inner ends of which commence substantially tangentially near the base of the sharply tapered central portion. At their trailing edges these ribs are formed with vertical faces but the leading face of each rib is curved from its to edge in an easy iie vertical edge of an adjacent rib, as shown in Figs. 7-9. As the masticating chamber C2, constituted by the space between the cover and the movable member tapers gradually from the center toward the discharge edge, the volute ribs C3 will also taper in depth in a similar manner as they are of such a depth that they each approximately fill the space between the cover and the movable member. AReferring again to Figs. 7-9, it will be observed that the degree of curvature of the channels between the ribs is also considerablyy less near the outer priphery than toward the center. At the periphery immediately beneath the discharge edge B2 of the cover these. channels are of Such a depth that between the cover and the Vsurface or floor of the bearings; Of these two bearings the lower one D1 is a feotste bearing formed in an enlargement provied in the base of the casing. rl`heother bearing for the shaft is situated near its upper end and is carried` centrally in a spider D3, the outer ends of the arms of which are secured to, or cast integral with, the inner wall of the annular collecting channel A1. The actual bearing at thiskend of the shaft is constituted by a bushing D2 which is vertically adjustable by means of a screw-threaded engagement with acentral boss D2 on the spider and the bush is provided with a hand-wheel D5 at vits lower end by which it may be rotated to effect its vertical adjustment. A lock-nut D6, also formed with a hand-wheel, is provided to retain the bushing in its adjusted position. f

The 'shaft D, at its upper end, extends into a central recess E in the lower face of the movable member C andv is slidably keyed therein. Between the lower face of the movable member and a flange F formed 195' D journaled centrally in the casing in two j at the upper end of the bushing D2 just referred to, is a ball-bearing G on which the member C is supported and rotates. It is thus possible, by rotating the hand-wheel D5, to adjust the height of the member C, and it will be seen that any such adjustment will have the effect of altering the width of the discharge gap between the outer edge of the disk and the edge B2 on the cover-plate.

In order to rotate the shaft there is keyed to it, at its lower end, a bevel-pinion H which meshes with a second bevel-pinion J carried at the inner end of a horizontal shaft K. The latter is carried in bearings K1 provided on the inner wall of the casing A and at dits buter endbeyond the casing, is provided with a sprocket K2 or other convenient. driving connection by which it can be rotated.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The

material to be emulsitied, for eX- ample the kernels of castor seed 1n admixture with water, is fed through the inlet B1 in the cover on to the movable member C which latter is rotated by the mechanism just described. Partly by the aid of centrifugal action and partly owing to the shape of the ribs C3, the material is fed toward the circumference of the movable member and becomes emulsified during its passage. Owing to the diminishing depth of the ribs, the solid material becomes.l crushed and this crushing action is aided by the corrugations B3 at the periphery of the cover or fixed member. At the discharge edge the two members are separated only very slightly for example a distance equal to the thickness of a paper sheet and the material becomes further emulsified by being forced through this very narrow slit. The emulsifed material issues from the discharge edge as a creamy substance which is thrown out into the annular collecting channel A1 and from this channel it flows by letAz.

It is found that with the present apparatus materials which are very difficult to emulsify, for example the kernels of castor seed, are very thoroughly and efficiently broken up and emulsied.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising two members spaced apart face to face, means for producing relative movem/ent between said members, and means for introducing material between said members and for discharging the material at their margins, at least one of said members having corrugations on the inner face thereof disposed obliquely to the direction of relative movement between the members of the gravity to thedischarge out-v troughs of said corrugat-ions diminishing in depth toward the discharge margin at which a narrow gap is afforded, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising two conically shaped members spaced apart face to face to provide a downwardly inclined masticating chamber therebetween, means for producing relative movement between said members, and means for introducing material into said chamber, said members forming a narrow discharge gap adjacentthe edges thereof through which thematerial is discharged, at least one of said members having corrugations on the inner face thereof disposed obliquely to the direction of relative movement. between the members, the troughs of said corrugations diminishing in depth toward said discharge gap, substantially as described.

3. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising in combination, two members spaced apart face to face to provide a masticating chamber therebetween, means for producing relative' movement between said members, means for introducing material between said members and for discharging it at their margins, andan annular collecting trough to receive the discharged material and formed with its bottom surface sloping downwardly from one end of a diameter of said members to an opposite end thereof, at least one of said members having corrugations on the inner face thereof disposed obliquely to the direction of relative movement between the members, the troughs of said corrugations diminishing in depth toward their discharge margins, substantially as described.

4. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising a member having a conically shaped face provided with volute ribs upstanding therefrom, a second member cooperating therewith -and provided with corrugations constituting pockets diminishing in depth toward1 the outer edge of said members, means for producing relative move- `ment between said members, and means for positioning said members to provide a narrow discharge gap between the edges thereof, substantially as described.

An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising a bottom member having a conically shaped upper face provided with volute ribs, an upper member coperatingtherewith, and provided with corrugations constituting pockets adjacent the edge of said member, vmeans for producing relative movement between said members, and means for holding said` members in coperative relation to provide a narrow discharge gap between the edges thereof, substantially as described.

6. An apparatus for. making emulsions stantially as described.

comprising'a movable member having a conically shaped face provided with volute ribs upstanding therefrom, a conically shaped fixed member in the form of a hood for the movable member and coperating therewith to form a downwardly inclined masticating chamber, the degree of conicity of the surface of the movable member on which the.

ribs are formed being less than that of the adjacent surface of the fixed member, and means for rotating the movable member, substantially as described.

f 7. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising a circular bottom member, having a series of upstanding volute ribs theretially as described. I

Afor producing relativel on gradually from the decreasing 1n height center of said member outwardly, member coperatingv therewith, and means rotational movement between said members, scribed. i v e y 8. An `apparatus l for making emulsions comprising an upper member, a circular bottom membercoper'ating therewith to form a masticating chamber and having a series of volute ribs each shaped to fill approximately the space between the vtwo members, with the leading face of each rib carriedl from thetop thereof by an easy curve uniting the top of the ribs with the foot of an adjacent rib, and'means for producing relative rotational movement between said members, substantially as described.

9. An apparatus for making emulsions comprising a circularbottom member having a. series of volute ribs thereon each provided with'avertically extending `face and a curved face, said ribs gradually decreasing in height from the center of said member Y outwardly wherebysaid curved faces gradually become flatter towardthe periphery of said member, a second member coperating therewith to form a vmasticating chamber, and means for producing relative rotational movement between said members,

10. An apparatus comprising a casin having a .conieally shaped.l cover provi ed` with corrugations, the troughs of which gradually diminish in depth toward'the'outer edge of said cover, an annular collecting trough below said cover, a rotatable member within said casing and coperating with said cover to provi e a masticating chamber therebetween,

a second substantially as def chamber therebetween,

'said members,

for making emulsions,`

and means for rotating said member, sub- 11. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising a casing having a conically shaped cover provided with corrugations the troughs of depth toward the outer edge of said cover, an annular collecting trough in said casing below said cover, a rotatable memberwithin said casing and coperating with said cover to provide a masticating chamber therebetween, said rotatable member having a series of volute ribs upstanding therefrom in the direction ofthe cover aforesaid, and means for rotating said member, substantially as described.

12. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising a stationary member having corrugations formed in the marginal portion of one face thereof, the troughsof said oorwhich gradually diminish in` rugations gradually decreasingjin depth` fromthe middle toward the ends and toward both sides thereof, a second member coperating therewith to provide a masticating said ,chamber having a mar 'nal discharge'gap, means for feeding material to said chamber, and means for producing relative rotational movement between said members, substantially as described.

13. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprising coperating conically shaped members forming a' masticating chamber therebetween, a series of volute ribs of grad-v ually decreasing height formed on. one of entirely lacross said chamber, and means for d extending substantially producing relative rotationalmovement bei tween saidy members,y substantially as described. 14. An apparatus for making emulsions, comprislng- 'a` casing having a conically shaped cover provided with corrugations/the troughs 0f which gradually diminish in depth toward thepouter edge of'said cover, an annular collecting trough in said casing below and closed by the said cover, arotatable member within said'` casing 'and `co` operating with said cover to provide a masticating chamber therebetween, said rotatable member having aA series of volute'pribs `upstanding therefrom in the direction, of the cover aforesaid, vand means for rotating'said Y member, substantially as described.`

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

GEORGE MITCHELL. 

